“And then what happened? Did he leave her for you?”
Laurel smiles. “No. He didn’t. I left university and moved to London and we thought we couldn’t live without each other and that we were going to have all these wildly romantic rendezvous in country hotels. Of course, within six weeks it had totally fizzled out. Apparently he and his wife split up that same year. Too young to get married, basically. We werealltoo young. Did you know that the parts of the brain involved in decision-making aren’t fully developed until you’re twenty-five years old?”
SJ shrugs.
“Who is it?” Laurel asks.
“It’s the course leader,” SJ says, “at the art college where I model.”
“How long has it been going on for?”
SJ drops her chin into her chest and mumbles, “A few months.”
“And how often are you seeing him?”
“Most days,” she says.
“Where?”
“At work. In his office.” She shrugs. “Sometimes at his brother’s place when he’s out of town.”
“Does he ever take you out anywhere? Drinks? Dinner?”
SJ shakes her head and plucks at the drawstring on her joggers.
“So it’s just sex?”
SJ lifts her head quickly. “No!” she exclaims. “No! It’s much more than that! We talk, all the time. And he draws me. I’m his...”
“Muse.”
“Yes. I’m his muse.”
Laurel sighs. Cliché after cliché after cliché.
“Sara-Jade,” she starts carefully. “You are a very beautiful girl.”
“Huh.”
“You are very beautiful and very special. This man—what’s his name?”
“Simon.”
“Simon has very good taste. He can clearly see quality when it crosses his path. And I’m sure he’s a wonderful man.”
“He is,” says SJ. “He really is.”
“Of course. You wouldn’t be with him if he wasn’t. Has he said he’ll leave his wife?”
“Partner.”
“Partner, wife, it doesn’t matter. They have children. They share a home. Has he said he’ll leave her for you?”
She shakes her head.
“Do you want him to?”
She nods. And then shakes it again. “No.Obviously.I mean, you know,his kids, especially the little one. And I’ve been through it myself. So I know what it feels like.”